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CFL: Week 1 Recap, Week 2 Picks + Preview
26 Plays4 days ago
The Goal Post is back to recap the start of the CFL Season!
Damien and Patrick start off the show talking about just how high the talent level is in the CFL - especially at the receiver position currently - before breaking down each game from Week 1. The Roughriders look like a fine-tuned machine, the Alouettes had an impressive first-showing while the Argos struggled, while the Stampeders came out firing, as did the Lions.
The Boys then move to a new segment - The Goal Post 3 Stars of the Week - to highlight the three best performances of the week, along with some honourable mentions. Next, they re-shuffle the CFL power rankings to take into account Week 1 wins and losses, before moving to Week 2.
They quickly preview each game on the Week 2 slate, including moving lines and quick thoughts, before giving out their Week 2 picks - The Podcast is 2-2 after the opening week.
Enjoy!
Intro: 0:00-3:07
Roughriders 31 Redblacks 26: 3:08 - 13:51
Alouettes 28 Argonauts 10: 13:52 - 26:26
Stampeders 38 Ti-Cats 26: 26:27 - 36:10
Lions 31 Elks 14: 36:11 - 48:26
Three Stars of the Week: 48:27 - 51:42
Power Rankings: 51:43 - 54:55
Week 2 Preview: 54:56 - 1:04:37
Week 2 Picks: 1:04:38 - 1:08:54
Recommended
Transcript
00:00:13
Speaker
All
Welcome and CFL Season Kick-off
00:00:14
Speaker
right. Welcome back to another episode of the goalpost. It's beautiful day out and we are done with week one of the CFL season. It's in the books.
00:00:26
Speaker
Got out to a rip roaring start. Patrick, we're back. It was nice to be back, Damian. I mean, the the preseason is always a bit of a tease. You only get to see some of the starters play.
00:00:38
Speaker
And then a lot, it's usually a lot of fringe guys just trying to make the roster in the second half. But week one has happened. ah We had a great Thursday night football game to kick the season off. And it's I just think we're going to be in for a great season based off the first week of football that we saw.
00:00:53
Speaker
There was one blowout, but for the most, maybe two blowouts, depending on what your definition is. But some pretty close games, a lot of high scoring, and just a lot of things to talk about after the first week. So I'm pretty excited to dive into everything that we saw. And I mean, it was just nice, man. And we didn't get anything too crazy. I thought we might get...
00:01:13
Speaker
One of those you know penalty rule changes that we're talking about. And so no controversy, a lot of fun and some new records that we can talk about that we that happened over the first week. But yeah, just a lot of good things. And it was nice to see that ball flying in the
Week One Offensive Highlights
00:01:27
Speaker
air.
00:01:27
Speaker
Yeah, a bunch of new records. I'm glad you touched on that. But yeah, just great to be back. Great to have football on you know three days in a row on a summer weekend. There's nothing better than that.
00:01:38
Speaker
um and just the kind of a a lot of talent. like That is what stok stood out to me on those first couple of games, and especially receivers. like I feel like we are entering in, I don't know if it's recency bias, I don't know what it is, but it seems like right now in the CFL, there is just this overload of talent at the receiver position, basically on every team where it's every single game you are getting crazy performances out of one, two receivers.
00:02:08
Speaker
And it seems to be a different guy every week. The league has been pretty, pretty lucky with quarterbacks. I think since its inception, since it's, you know, been born and then we've had the greats and even now it's still been a great quarterback driven league, but now you're getting the complimentary pieces to the quarterbacks on offense.
00:02:28
Speaker
And it's nice to see these receivers starting to get some shine. You know, Austin Mack got a big contract last year. ah Kenny Lawler's got a big contract in Hamilton and, I mean, guys are going to continue to get paid at the receiver position if they continue to put up these these stats that we're seeing from week one and even going back to last year. There were some great ones, including a Canadian receiver, Justin McInnes, leading the league in receiving.
00:02:53
Speaker
ah So the the league... is rich with talent. It's just, and you know, we can maybe work on a little bit more marketing of them and promoting these players, but the league, the CFL itself is just rich with talent, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
00:03:08
Speaker
Yeah. And that was on full display on Thursday night football. Saskatchewan beats Ottawa 31 to 26 in a game where, speaking of receivers, they were on full display really between both of these teams.
00:03:23
Speaker
I think if you were to rank kind of receiving rooms, these two teams rank near the top of the league. um Really interesting start to this game. Ottawa comes out absolutely firing, really flexing that receiving core of Hardy, Addison, and Geno Lewis all making big catches.
00:03:41
Speaker
um and And it's capped off on the opening drive by our boy Dustin Crum getting the first touchdown of the season. That was that was so sweet. They looked unstoppable in that first drive. i i would If I was an odds maker, I would have immediately made Ottawa the Grey Cup favorite after what I saw in that first drive.
00:04:00
Speaker
It was just Crum to Hardy to Addison. And then, you know, Lewis had to wait a little bit in that game to get involved and get his touches. But it was just they were doing whatever they wanted. And then, you know, it was just...
00:04:11
Speaker
Stan back was on a little bit on the ground and it was just a perfect first drive for the Ottawa red blocks where I thought this is what we were looking for in the preview. You know, we just needed more consistency out of drew Brown.
00:04:25
Speaker
Uh, and it was nice to see it and it was efficient passing. It wasn't just bombing it down the field. It was these seven, eight, 10 yard passes. that just added up and took so much time off the board.
Ottawa vs. Saskatchewan Game Analysis
00:04:36
Speaker
And, know, like they got their first, the score came halfway through, you're just before halfway through the first quarter, which is a nice, long, extended drive. You know, you're keeping their offense on the bench. Trevor Harris is antsy to get out there and you're not letting them get on the field. So it was nice to see the Red Blacks just hit the ground running to start the year. They clearly had a great training camp, a great preseason, and they were ready to go.
00:04:59
Speaker
um But I mean, They kind of quieted down after that first drive in the entire first half. Yeah, well, they they go and then and they strip Emelis on the next ah Saskatchewan possession after ah the Rough Riders are forced to kick a field goal and they end up punting out of bounds.
00:05:16
Speaker
And then Ottawa marches down for a field goal and they miss the kick. And that was like where things started to change in this game because the second quarter, was all Saskatchewan. They get a 60-yard return from Mario Alford to start it off, and then they march down for a touchdown to start the second quarter, and then it was just all positives from there. like Harris is throwing the ball all over the yard.
00:05:40
Speaker
They get it. He, Emelis gets a touchdown and double coverage loses his shoe. And even when they slipped in the second quarter, like Harris threw an interception, Ottawa couldn't convert.
00:05:50
Speaker
And then they just kept marching into like a 17 to seven lead at halftime. The only negative of that first half was AJ let getting hurt again. And judging off some moves recently, it seems like he might be out for a bit.
00:06:04
Speaker
Yeah. The, the rough rider sign Kadeem carry, uh, the former Argo, the former stampede, that That would mean it's more of an extended injury than I would have thought originally for AJ Ouellette. They're still yet to you know give us the exact diagnosis of the injury and what his timetable is.
00:06:21
Speaker
ah So that's going something to keep an eye on. But I mean, Thomas Bertrand-Houdon did a great job filling in. I mean, he added a touchdown later in the second half. But the thing that most impressed me about the Rough Riders in that second quarter was the adjustments they made on defense.
00:06:36
Speaker
Everyone kind of knew that the offense would have would find their rhythm eventually in that game, and then they hit hit their stride in the second quarter. But the defense made the adjustments after that first quarter where Ottawa looked like they were going to put up 100 points on them.
00:06:50
Speaker
They adjusted. They didn't give them anything. um that punt out of bounds from Ottawa could have been a lot worse. Saskatchewan was all over them. brun ah Ottawa punter was running for his life and was just able to get it off and somehow punting it out of bounds was the better play than getting tackled ah on their side of the field or even turning the ball over. So, I mean, the thing that most impressed me the most about the Rough Riders in the second quarter here was Corey Mace and their defense making the adjustments necessary to get their offense into the game, give them some time and just shut the Red Blacks down for the rest of the first half.
00:07:24
Speaker
Yeah, it was impressive.
Montreal vs. Toronto Game Breakdown
00:07:25
Speaker
that Their secondary really shored up in that second quarter, forced a lot of two and outs for Ottawa. um The second half seemed to be much of the same, especially for the third quarter.
00:07:36
Speaker
um Every time Ottawa seemed to have something going, Saskatchewan would respond. The one bright spot for Ottawa in the start of that second half was Geno Lewis gets a touchdown, extends his TD streak to nine straight games dating back to last season, and he is now one short.
00:07:54
Speaker
of tying the CFL record for 10 straight games. That is just a stupid record. And he was still plus money to score a touchdown going into that game. Yeah. It's he's an ageless wonder. it's It's just so impressive that he consistently does this. And, you know, he, I mentioned it earlier. He was a little quiet in the first half, but just being the veteran that he is like, he'll find his spots. He'll find his sweet spot in the zone. They're just kind of get lost in the defense.
00:08:20
Speaker
and it was timely. And they were down 24-7 at that point. the like the ah The Red Blacks needed some life, and he gave it to them. That's the veteran presence that I think this Red Blacks team can use and you know benefit from, as opposed to last year, where they really didn't have that on offense.
00:08:37
Speaker
And it was a team that could kind of unravel at times, where Drew Brown's throwing as many interceptions as he has touchdowns. I think a guy like Geno Lewis will really calm this ah offense down, And I think you kind of saw that like they they tried to come back in this game and it all started with that Geno Lewis touchdown.
00:08:54
Speaker
It really did. The end of this game was if you were thinking about shutting the game off, they just started like right towards the start of the fourth quarter. You're like, OK, we might have a game here. William Stanback scores his first touchdown as a red black.
00:09:07
Speaker
ah They cut the lead to 11 early in the fourth. And then Drew Brown like throws an absolute dime of a pass to Justin Hardy. like A perfect, perfect pass who then waltzes into the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown.
00:09:22
Speaker
Then the Red Blacks' defense seems to come to ah to life. They... like force a fumble a Darius picket recovers on the next riders drive. And it really seemed like they were going to make this close.
00:09:34
Speaker
They missed an extra point, which made it this weird five point deficit. And they couldn't kick the field goal because they missed the the two point convert after the stand back touchdown as well.
00:09:45
Speaker
um But then just the end of the game, it kind of unraveled because they couldn't capitalize off of that turnover. Offensive line looked a bit rough right towards the end of that game. Brown taking a couple big, big sacks, which kind of iced it for Saskatchewan.
00:10:00
Speaker
um But I thought Ottawa, at least at the end of that game, showed enough to be like, this is a team that is kind of on to something if they can put all the parts together. They showed fight.
00:10:11
Speaker
ah Drew Brown was, he threw the ball a lot, but he did a good job of it, right? No interceptions in this game, two touchdowns, over 400 yards in the air. This is, that was a classic Drew Brown game. And, you know, we can work on getting Stan back involved a little bit more as the season goes on. But I mean, they're playing behind the eight ball from halftime on. So running the ball was kind of out of the picture for the Red Blacks.
00:10:34
Speaker
So I'm not going to let, you know, panic about that yet. I think they will get Stan back involved a lot more. I think they should, like the first drive was great. They probably could have used him a little bit more just to keep the the defense honest. And, you know, once Saskatchewan adjusted side, like I mentioned, it was just Ottawa didn't adjust back until it was too late in Saskatchewan and kind of was just playing the the prevent defense. So for Ottawa, I mean, not a bad start to the year, right? You were underdogs in this game. you You showed some fight. The offense is clearly going to be in the top half of the league.
00:11:08
Speaker
Shore up the defense a little bit, get the running back more involved. And I think you can make some strides. and I think this team can compete in the East. They looked like a very competitive team in their season opener.
00:11:19
Speaker
Yeah, they really did. and And going to Saskatchewan to start the season on the road, that's never an easy thing in that stadium. ah Some stats that kind of define this game. The CFL does a great job of doing these articles. Three stats that defined, um you know, blanks win over blank.
00:11:34
Speaker
ah This one wasn't on there, but 120 yards of penalties for the Red Blacks. Not really sustainable. um Drew Brown, obviously you mentioned over 400 yards.
00:11:45
Speaker
He's become just the fourth player in CFL history to throw for 400 plus yard games in three consecutive regular season games. He's the first since Doug Flutie in 1993 accomplish that.
00:11:58
Speaker
I think it he has become like a sure thing as far as an arm goes, ah as far as a a quarterback talent goes. I'm sure some of the decision making, his ability to avoid sacks, that will come.
00:12:10
Speaker
um But I think he is he has kind of gotten to that level now where you trust him as a as a starter in this league and you know that he can be a franchise guy. um Some other things, like you said, they were behind the eight ball lot, but 30 yards rushing total.
00:12:26
Speaker
That is going to be a tough ah tough formula, however whichever way you swing it, ah to win a football game with 30 yards rushing. And then on Saskatchewan's side, ah we mentioned Bertrand Houdon had 14 carries for 57 yards and a touchdown, two receptions for 17 yards and a touchdown. So great game in relief.
00:12:45
Speaker
And then on the defensive side of the ball, Jameer Thurman with 10 tackles and a sack, 11 total defensive plays in this game. So that's part of that Corey Mays defense really coming to life.
00:12:56
Speaker
yeah Yeah, I think Saskatchewan has their identity, and I think Ottawa has their identity. I think Saskatchewan, we saw, is just great on both sides of the ball. ah Trevor Harris had a nice game. at The MLS, the receiving core...
00:13:10
Speaker
everything just looks smooth on the rough rider side, ah aside from the slow start there and just kind of letting Ottawa walk down the field, but they made the adjustments they had to the offense came through after the first quarter.
00:13:23
Speaker
And then they just look like a perennial team in this league. And I, I think that's what we're going to see a lot out of the rough riders. And then Ottawa, they had a lot of positives. Can you keep, uh, you know, adding on to these positives and just continue to get better? Cause if they do, I think they can, you know,
00:13:40
Speaker
I didn't have them. I had them maybe being third in the East, but not a real threat. They keep playing like this, man. I think I can move them up into the threat territory in the East for sure. I totally agree. On to another team in the East that came out swinging, uh, and that's the Montreal Alouettes. They beat the Argos 28
Montreal's Dominance and Argos' Struggles
00:14:00
Speaker
to 10 rough start for the reigning great cup champs.
00:14:04
Speaker
Um, One of the stats, even before we get into this, this is the first time the Argos lost by more than 14 points since October of 2022. So it's been a minute since they got beat like this.
00:14:17
Speaker
ah The Argos were starting 13 players who hadn't been in starting positions to finish last season. And it looked exactly like that in this game.
00:14:29
Speaker
Yeah, yeah um I'm going to put an asterisk on it, though, because no Chad Kelly. But I mean, it was not a good effort from the Toronto Argos. Like you said, a lot of new faces. it was It's a different team than last year. And especially without having your your veteran starting quarterback there, that definitely doesn't help.
00:14:46
Speaker
But this was an ugly effort from the Argos and it started pretty early. Like you could kind of see it. um They were lucky to kind of hold Montreal to a field goal in that early drive. And then they come back next drive and then it's like the touchdown. It's 10-0 and 10-0 kind of felt insurmountable.
00:15:03
Speaker
at that point. It's weird because you have three quarters to play and the CFL, you know, no game is ever safe. ah But Montreal was just dominant in this one. And I know they're a good team, but to me, it just felt like the Argos, they weren't on the same page, especially on the offensive side of the ball. And it was just kind of a messy a thing going on. And then, you know, they kind of They didn't put like makeup on it because they still lost by, like you said, more than 14 points for the first time since 2022.
00:15:32
Speaker
um But I mean, maybe the the second half touchdown could have given them something to look at and be positive about. But I don't think there's many positives that you can take away from this game if you're the Argos. Yeah, just a really sloppy effort kind of on both sides of the ball.
00:15:47
Speaker
ah One thing that was really uncharacteristic of this Argos team was the offensive line really, really struggled in this game. taking a ton of penalties early. and think it was like five penalties for 30 yards within the first quarter alone.
00:16:01
Speaker
um And I think, and those were all on offense. And, you know, I know you notice in the first drive with a completely new defensive line, people always point to how are they going to get to the quarterback? How are they going to rush the ball?
00:16:14
Speaker
But the thing on that first drive was you can't run stop like that new defensive line. That was where it became super, super apparent about how fresh that group was, was because the Alouettes were running pretty much whatever they wanted to. Davis Alexander was scrambling and, you know, Sean Thomas Erlington was running all over the yard.
00:16:35
Speaker
They had 163 rushing yards in this game Toronto's 34.
00:16:40
Speaker
thirty four Alexander had 50 himself, earned a lot of huge first downs with his feet. Erlington had 86 yards on 17 carries. and And that to me was something really, really apparent early.
00:16:54
Speaker
um Secondary struggled like Philpott was kind of running all over the place and getting really open early. And then on on the offensive side of the ball, they just generally looked really out of rhythm.
00:17:07
Speaker
Yeah, it was it was an ugly start um for the Argos to their season. Something that i thought Montreal did well that I would have liked to see the Argos do, especially with Nick Arbuckle starting the game, they kind of sheltered Alexander.
00:17:21
Speaker
It was not like they were, so you know... Had training wheels on him, but they just gave him safe plays. And he got the protection he needed from the offensive line. Ran when he saw fit, but he just had an efficient game.
00:17:32
Speaker
19 of 26 for 205 yards and a touchdown. Had an interception in there, but I mean, is what it is. He also added 50 yards on the ground. It was just a nice start to the season for Davis Alexander.
00:17:45
Speaker
And I mean, it's just something you can build upon. But I mean, they don't really get that without the running game from Sean Thomas Erlington, who... you know, it was a big question mark for the Alouettes. What was their running game, running room going to look like?
00:17:58
Speaker
And but they're off to a hell of a start. And I mean, you even added Travis Thice, or Thice, sorry, added, you know, 22 yards on the ground on just three carries. Like the running game was there for Montreal. It killed the clock. It let Davis Alexander settle into this game.
00:18:13
Speaker
Like said, that defensive line on the Argos really struggled. Montreal saw a point of attack where they could go for it and they really exploited that weakness on the Argos side of the ball whereas you know Arbuckle's having to throw it 32 times he's throwing two interceptions uh he is unfortunately the leading rusher as well for the Argos which I mean like we I guess we can get into that is it is it something similar to the red black situation where you're you know you're down early you're chasing the game but I mean Stanbeck at least had nine carries and
00:18:48
Speaker
your your two running backs had seven carries combined like that. This is bad. This is a bad running game from the Argos. Very bad. And, you know, Deontay McMahon or Mick Mahone, who he's now going by, which threw the broadcast into an absolute loop.
00:19:02
Speaker
ah He only got one carry in the second half. Like that is something that I know you're playing behind the eight ball, but It really just became a super stagnant offense and they weren't making it, you know, hard on, on the Alouettes defense to predict what they were going to do. They knew that they were throwing and just some really obvious passing plays where that, know,
00:19:25
Speaker
the, the interception, the first interception that Arbuckle through, you know, he had a big connection to Coasey on the play before, and they just knew that he was going to go back to him. And the guy jumped the route. Like it was an easy, easy interception.
00:19:37
Speaker
um And part of that running game that just didn't take off was I think the real nail in the coffin in this game was that ridiculous fumble scoop and score to end the first half where that was a bit of an insane play to me. Like he,
00:19:53
Speaker
Sean open, like comes down on our buckle and our buckle kind of panics to throw it. And it seems to slip out of his hands and the L scoop it, return it, you know, 18 yards to the house to go up 15 to three at halftime. They look at the play. They, they hold it up as a fumble.
00:20:12
Speaker
I thought it was a bit insane that the refs didn't blow that play dead to begin with, because Just by on on like a very quick look at it, if it was in real time, i think that looks like a forward passing motion every time. If the Owls want to ah challenge it, then you have to turn that over. But the fact that the refs held it up and then, you know, they look at it and ends up being a fumble.
00:20:36
Speaker
just That play was a bit bizarre to me. Yeah, it's frustrating, right? Because I think they called it a fumble on the field so they could go and review it. But if they just kind of went off their basic judgment of what they saw in the play, i think you leave it incomplete and you leave it up to Montreal to challenge the play.
00:20:54
Speaker
So then when you know when they did say it was a fumble on the field, now we go to the review room and now it has to be you know beyond reasonable doubt that this wasn't a fumble. And it was you know it was close enough right It wasn't, I think, 100% certainty.
00:21:10
Speaker
um I agree with you. like I'm on um on your side on on the on the play, but with the refs kind of, i don't know what the word, like kind of just relying on the replay, right and you're just saying, I don't really care what actually happened. I'm not going to watch it in real time and make a decision or an opinion on what I saw.
00:21:29
Speaker
I'm just going to call it the fumble, the turnover. And you know he took it back. So it's a scoring play just so we can review it. And it's just like, no, you can just make your judgment on the play. You're a ref. You get paid to make calls and decisions and you can make your decision. And I'm sure at least one ref out there thought it was an incomplete pass.
00:21:50
Speaker
And if it was called an incomplete pass, I bet you if Montreal challenged, it would stay an incomplete pass. It was kind of one of those calls. Yeah, that's just the thing. got to think that like after a while that has to like water down almost your eye test ability as a ref when you continue to rely on that happens a lot in the and NHL nowadays where they call something a major, you know, without really even seeing it so that they can go and use the instant replay to get a good call on it. But I just feel like after a while, if you keep on relying on that, you kind of lose your
00:22:22
Speaker
that touch and then it it turns into a thing where now you're like the burden of proof is on the opposite side where you have to hold up something that happened. um Anyways, that that, you know, there's a lot of things that that might have not just been, you know, the sole reason why the Argos lost this game.
00:22:40
Speaker
They actually i thought the the Argos offense looked a little bit better in the second half. I thought the defense actually played much better in the second half. Part of that was the Alouettes kind of nursing a lead a bit, um but that game was gone going into the third quarter.
00:22:55
Speaker
um You know, you look at the end of the game, some, some stats that kind of defined it, three takeaways by the Al's defense, two interceptions and a fumble return, hard to win um when you're, you know, losing the turnover battle like that. And then,
00:23:08
Speaker
the special teams battle, the Argos did not have a single drive start on the opposing side of the field for the entire game. you know Meanwhile, James Letcher starts the second half with a 67-yard kickoff return to open the Ls.
00:23:22
Speaker
ah second half, which ends in a touchdown. um And then, you know, on the outside of the defense, Alexandra, Alexandra Gagne ties a CFL record with seven special teams tackles. So really in every phase of the game, the Alouettes were better and they deserve to kind of win in this fashion.
00:23:41
Speaker
Yeah, it was a dominant win by Montreal at home. you know maybe Maybe that's something the Argos can kind of take as positive, but this is a rare burn-the-tape game for the Argos, especially over the past couple years.
00:23:54
Speaker
um I guess if you're looking for one positive on on the Argonaut side of the ball, DeMonte Cochsey is still you know an elite receiver in this league. Five receptions for 99 yards.
00:24:06
Speaker
So I think that connection, even when Chad comes back, that's going to be there all year long. So I think the offense will get back to where it was. We just need the running game to get going, and it'll just be a little bit different with Chad Kelly at quarterback. But I mean, Montreal...
00:24:22
Speaker
maybe Maybe they took what we said personally about them. yeah way Maybe they were maybe they're reading the headlines and they saw what the goalpost had to say. Yeah, it was a bit of bulletin board material. They kind of stuffed it to us there. But yeah, ah you know I tweeted out, like it it feels like every single game, Demonte Coxie has a big catch.
00:24:39
Speaker
like Even if it's if he ends the game with two catches, one of them is probably for 30 or 35 yards. So that was definitely a positive. I thought another positive for the game in general, great crowd in Montreal.
00:24:52
Speaker
Like that was the building was packed. And on a Friday night, you know, TSN unveiled a bunch of new Friday night football stuff. I thought the broadcast package was great. um Luke Wilson on the sidelines out of nowhere.
00:25:06
Speaker
i thought he seemed a bit nervous, which was, you know, funny to me. It it always, you know, when you have X players in media like that, you know, a guy who's played in one in a Super Bowl is like nervous doing like a Friday night football.
00:25:19
Speaker
on the sidelines. But I thought, you know, a bunch of that broadcast, it was fun. It was new. They had a new intro to it new score bug in the CFL. ah So I just thought in general, the bra that was a great broadcast.
00:25:32
Speaker
Yeah, they're also on location too. They only do that so every so often, so it was nice. it had a It had a big game feel to it on a Friday night, which I think, um I know you know you're not going to shell out the money to have them go on location every week, but I think the more you kind of do that and have them on location and just make it more of a big game feel...
00:25:52
Speaker
the more the league can grow, man. And all it is is just getting people to watch and turn the game on on ah on a summer, on a Friday night, Thursday night, Saturday, Sunday, whatever. get them to turn the game on.
00:26:05
Speaker
Cause I think that the deal with CBS as well is huge for in the States and growing the CFL in America. Cause you know, those guys love football. So we just need to just, you know, more of that. it was It was a great production. It was a great first week to the CFL.
00:26:18
Speaker
Yeah. and they were on site in Saskatchewan the night before too. So they went all the way over. ah Yeah. Love to see that. Kudos to TSN for that. um But moving back out West,
00:26:29
Speaker
ah into Calgary for Calgary's home
Calgary's Winning Strategy Against Hamilton
00:26:32
Speaker
opener. The Stampeders come out roaring ah and beat the Ticats 38 to 26. Another really interesting game for a number of reasons. You start out with Vernon Adams first drive as a Stampeder.
00:26:45
Speaker
He goes five for five, ending in a Dedrick Mills touchdown. ah Would have been and a passing touchdown if they Didn't get that offensive pass interference on Dominique Rimes and would have been a big touchdown throw.
00:26:58
Speaker
And I think that just the tone that that set in this game, we talked about Calgary's offseason additions, talked about needing to kind of build back up a culture in Calgary. I thought that was a great way to start that game and immediately get the crowd into it.
00:27:17
Speaker
Fun, fun game in this one. ah Just an absolute shootout over 60 points. Yeah, Calgary. These two teams were, you know, the the in the basement of their respective divisions last year.
00:27:29
Speaker
a lot of positive change, it seemed, ah for both these teams going into the year. A lot, you know, brighter outlook on the season than in years past. And I think and if you look at the grand scheme, I think both delivered on that. But in you know who did it more?
00:27:45
Speaker
It was easily the Calgary Stampeders. And this is Dave Dickinson and Vernon Adams Jr. marriage is off to a hot start. I know Vernon Adams Jr. wasn't you know the focal point, I guess you could say, of this game based on the stats. yeah No touchdowns, two interceptions.
00:28:00
Speaker
But the veteran presence and the playmaking ability and him extending plays and just getting guys open was beautiful to compliment ah an amazing Dedrick Mills game.
00:28:11
Speaker
and And, you know, it was just it was just a great game from the Stampeders. Doug Flutie was in attendance there. that He was throwing the ball to fans, signing autographs. So, I mean, this game, like the 38-26 win for the Stamps,
00:28:25
Speaker
What a way to start the year. you know You can kind of put the, ah we're going to be a bottom feeder team. you I think you can put those away. I'm not saying they're going playoff team, but I don't think this is a a bad football team. I think they're they've improved immensely, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
00:28:42
Speaker
And I don't see this, you know, i don't we got to get a nickname for this like offensive team. unit man because it was so fun they had the most points scored in week one out of all the teams and i don't see it slowing down anytime soon no i really don't and you know we talked about receivers earlier in this episode i thought that the receiving core of this calgary team mixed with vernon adams is just so fun to watch he spread the ball across the yard like Reggie Bagleton had three receptions in that first drive. He's still absolutely on top of his game.
00:29:17
Speaker
Clark Barnes, four targets, four receptions for 112 yards. ah Tevin Jones, I thought looked great. ah New addition from Edmonton. um And this is a game, you know, you put up 38 points and Dominique Rimes had one catch for 15 yards. Obviously he had the other one ah taken back, but when,
00:29:36
Speaker
likely your best receiver has a game like that and you're still putting up 38 points. It's probably a great start for your offense. um VA starts nine for nine. And I thought that, you know, similar to what you said about the Red Blacks, I was super impressed with the offense. But to me, the questions we still had about this team were on the defensive side of the ball.
00:29:58
Speaker
And here's a stat. 51 minutes and 29 seconds was the time it took for Hamilton to enter the red zone on offense. They were held out of the red zone until there was eight minutes and 31 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
00:30:14
Speaker
thought they did a great job of limiting big plays by Bo Levi Mitchell. Big testament to an improved defense. uh, Paul Levi and the tie cats offense were held to a 30% conversion rate on second down. So really just did a great job of limiting this offense, forcing them to feel goals. If that, uh, and just an impressive game by a defense that really got torched last year, they were firing on all cylinders. This was like the best stampeter. This would have been the best stampeters game of last year.
00:30:45
Speaker
And it, and it happened in this, this seems like a new team. And like you said, it, Hamilton, they might not be the best team in the world, but their offense is is good. And it's high powered and it's improved from last year with Kenny Lawler.
00:30:59
Speaker
And they stifled them. And, you know, they poured it on late a little bit. Hamilton, they scored some touchdowns in the fourth quarter. But this game was in the bag from Calgary from halftime with that, you know, Dedrick Mills running touchdown with about three seconds left in the second quarter.
00:31:14
Speaker
I thought that's kind of where they won the game. As long as they didn't ah implode and they just kept doing and everything they were and they did, it was just, it was a comfortable win for Calgary, start the year off strong and, you know,
00:31:27
Speaker
a This has been the theme. The teams that are down don't run the ball. And I mean, Hamilton is no different in this circumstance where you got your leading rusher with you know eight rushes for 14 yards. That's Greg Bell. And then everyone else, it's just one rush, 14 yards, two rushes, 12 yards.
00:31:47
Speaker
They just abandon the run game. And I do get it because you don't want to kill the clock. But you got to kind of keep these these defenses honest us because it wasn't like this game was out of reach at halftime. It felt like that was a bit of a bra back-breaking touchdown, but it wasn't a Argos down situation. It wasn't a Red Blacks down situation. This would have been the closest of the three at halftime, and Hamilton just kind of completely abandoned the run game.
00:32:14
Speaker
And you got to wonder if this is the formula for another Bo Levi Mitchell ah charity MOP. I mean, it's it was a really weird game because another thing that Calgary did great was they dominated on special teams like to your point about that.
00:32:32
Speaker
touchdown by Dedrick Mills that kind of really put a nail in the coffin going into half was it was a botched punt that led to a turnover on downs on Hamilton's own 42 yard line stamps converted after a couple of big passes and all of the sudden Mills is back into the end zone and then the start of the second half Johnny Augustine lets the ball drop on the kickoff and the stamps swarm it and just beat him to the ball recover the ball. couple plays later, PJ Walker gets his first CFL touchdown.
00:32:59
Speaker
And all of a sudden it is 25 to nine, you know, a minute into the third quarter. And then from there, it was really gone. And then, you know, you really started this to see this tie cats offense kind of revert to what it was last year and just trying to force the ball, force the pass.
00:33:19
Speaker
Kenny Lawler, I thought looked great, but six receptions on 13 targets at times in this game. It really felt like Bo Levi was really forcing him the ball a bit. And it felt like he was the only player on ah offense who was making positive plays with the football.
00:33:33
Speaker
So they kind of spiraled out and reverted. And I saw a lot of tie cats fans kind of talking about this into that, that team from last season where, you know, things start going not well. And all of a sudden they're playing from behind and throwing it a ton in the second half where it's just kind of amounting to not a lot.
00:33:52
Speaker
they became too predictable. And, you know, you let James Butler go and similar to Montreal, like they let, they let their running back go and they had Sean Thomas Erlington step up big time. and And in his first week, who stepped up for Hamilton in the running back room, absolutely nobody. And that's going to be a problem all year long.
00:34:12
Speaker
And, you know, Bell is going to have to step up here. i don't know who it is, but someone in that running back room has to have a big game and take some pressure off of Bo Levi Mitchell because otherwise it's going to be the exact same as last year.
00:34:27
Speaker
It's going to be Bo slinging it 50 plus times a game and you're just kind of hoping and praying that it's it's not interceptions and it's, you know, reset and it's... caught and it's getting touchdowns and your defense kind of just does enough. And you're just going to be in shootouts every single week and praying that you're on the right side of them.
00:34:45
Speaker
So I think for Hamilton, it's just, you need someone to step up, uh, offensively, especially in the running back room, because you know, Tim white was good enough as a complimentary receiver. He had six receptions for 69 yards, uh, no touchdowns or anything, but yeah, it it turned into the Kenny Lawler show, especially in the second half there.
00:35:05
Speaker
And that is not sustainable. No, it's it's really not. The one bright spot for the Ticats in that second half, Isaiah Wooden is is seeming to be a real solution at kick returner.
00:35:16
Speaker
um Bounces off some tackles and breaks free for a 105-yard kick returner. Looks to be a bit of a rising star at that position, so that was one really really big positive ah from that game was this guy can run and run really fast. I felt like he just caught the entire kicking team and, you know, as a special teams unit that looked great throughout the game, really by surprise.
00:35:41
Speaker
um But yeah, not enough from the tie cats. They got a really kind of show that they can bounce back from this and, You know, they have Saskatchewan next week. We'll get to that in in our week two preview, but not an easy bounce back game whatsoever. And for a team that started 0-5 to start the season last year, um not the kind of start that you wanted. So ah we'll get to our power rankings. But we said that this game, you know, the the battle out of the basement. Well, there's a new team in the basement.
00:36:10
Speaker
um We'll move on to the last game of the week here.
BC Lions' Strong Start
00:36:13
Speaker
um with a team that we really, really weren't sure of of how they would come out, of how they would look, and that was the BC Lions, who at home, 52,000 in the crowd, ah they win 31-14 over the Edmonton Elks.
00:36:29
Speaker
This was the first time that two Canadians have faced each other at quarterback since 1968, the first time ever ah in week one, and you know we'll break this down kind of the Lions side and then the Elks side,
00:36:42
Speaker
Because to start with the Lions, Nathan Rourke looked great in this game. So back. it was it was night and day compared to last year. It was...
00:36:54
Speaker
It's not shocking, but it was just I didn't know if he was going to get back to that level. And it was so smooth. And it was especially in the second half. It felt like he turned it up even more as the game went on.
00:37:05
Speaker
ah He finished 27 36, 324 yards in the air, three touchdowns and added 54 yards on the ground. So, I mean, it was just a perfect game from Nathan Rourke. This offense didn't skip a beat, really.
00:37:20
Speaker
And it was, you know, spreading the ball around, ah you know, Stanley Berryhill with two touchdowns over 100 yards receiving. This was a very impressive Nathan Rourke ah performance.
00:37:33
Speaker
You know, is it the Buck Pierce effect? We don't know. But I mean, it doesn't hurt, right? It was just it's a new vibe for him in the locker room this year. He is clearly the leader, the alpha of this team.
00:37:45
Speaker
ah He's not competing with Vernon Adams Jr. in the room, who, is also an alpha in his own right. So it was just kind of a competing, you know, you had two alphas going against you You got two alphas. You don't have one. So now you got one with Rourke and he was just using his feet properly. The offensive line was giving him time.
00:38:02
Speaker
And he was just picking his spots. It was just perfect. He didn't get himself into any trouble. And ah I don't know. It was just very impressive to watch. And then he had a nice complimentary piece that Hamilton probably would have liked in their first week with James Butler going on for 68 yards on just 10 rushes, added a touchdown.
00:38:23
Speaker
ah The offense for BC in this game was borderline perfect. It was very impressive to watch. Yeah, James Butler looked fantastic. Like ten yeah averaging 6.8 yards a carry, both performance on the field. He looked great. Also, I thought he looked so good in a Lions uniform.
00:38:42
Speaker
Like he looked so clean in that uniform. He looked like to just slide into that offense. Clearly still has so much left in the tank, running downhill really fast, really strong.
00:38:53
Speaker
i And, you you know, considering both him and Rourke, this game, I thought, like you mentioned, kind of demonstrated how Buck Pierce can utilize a good QB and a good running back to their fullest extent. Like he was doing that like clockwork.
00:39:07
Speaker
um with Kolaros and with Brady Olivera. So the offense looked dynamic, a good mix of throwing and running. He knows exactly when to dice you with what.
00:39:18
Speaker
And that, like you said, in the second half, just went to like this whole other level where BC goes on a run of four straight touchdowns on four drives to start the second half, ah three throwing touchdowns from Nathan Rourke, and then a touchdown on the ground from James Butler.
00:39:36
Speaker
um We're spreading the ball like Stanley Berryhill gets two touchdowns. Justin McInnes finds the end zone Butler on the ground. ah And I just thought the offense looked fantastic.
00:39:47
Speaker
And then the defensive line, I thought also looked incredible in this game. ah Like we mentioned in our preview, that is one of the strengths of this team. um You got Covington, you've got Matthew Betts, and then I thought Dwayne Hendricks from the Argos, he looked great. He got a sack late in this game, which was really huge to kind of snuff out what the Elks had left.
00:40:07
Speaker
um They only had two sacks on the night, but man, did they have a lot more pressures. Yeah, I mean, it it doesn't always show up on the stat sheet, and Trey Ford is arguably the hardest quarterback in the league to get on the ground.
00:40:20
Speaker
But I mean, you you it does show up on the statue at the same time, just not in the sack category. i mean, Matthew Betts, six tackles, Robert Carter Jr., seven tackles. Like these guys were all over them. And Trey Ford was running for his life at times. You know, here and there, he could make these miraculous plays that we saw in that game, just absolutely insane to watch.
00:40:41
Speaker
But for the most part, it was non-threatening and he was just running and running and running and trying to extend these plays. But there was just nothing there. He'd either have to throw it away or, you know, he just, he's running for like a two, three yard gain, which you can take like that. That is a good play for BC to limit Trey Ford to less than five yards of carry.
00:40:58
Speaker
Uh, you could, I thought you could tell Trey Ford was a little hesitant to run in the first half. And then it was kind of green light in the second half and he was kind of running all over the place. ah So I kind of think that was on BC. They're keeping them in contain.
00:41:12
Speaker
ah The edge rushers did a good job, just not letting them get loose, especially in the first half. And then when they got down in the game, you kind of saw them get a little bit more desperate with using Trey's legs.
00:41:22
Speaker
ah But no, it was just a complete team effort. A nice welcome to the league. he got the Gatorade bath, Buck Pierce after the game. And, you know Snoop Dogg was performing pregame. It was just good vibes in BC. Like i said, over 50,000 in the stadium.
00:41:36
Speaker
It's impressive what they got going on over there. And for a team that I think you and I both had as ah as a question mark and what we we're going to see from Rourke and this entire team, very impressed through the first week. Very, very impressed through the first week.
00:41:50
Speaker
Yeah, I and immediately shoot up our power rankings, which we'll get to after this. But yeah, I thought that that was... A really good effort from there to really just instill some confidence ah in this team. They then go next week to Winnipeg for a za Zach Kolaros. Less Blue Bombers could start this season in a really positive way.
00:42:11
Speaker
On to the Elks here. I thought that the Elks. starting on the defensive side of the ball, the Edmonton D line started this game really good. They had a good showing at the very start stopping BC on third and one on the goal line.
00:42:25
Speaker
um But when you look at the end of this game with all these new additions on the line, they weren't able to sack Nathan Rourke one time who killed them on his feet more than a few times in this game ah for huge first down. That's A little bit of that is a testament to Rourke. I thought he knew exactly when to use his feet and to to scramble for first downs.
00:42:46
Speaker
um But, you know, in adding all of that, you need to kind of end this game with a sack or two on Nathan Rourke. ah If you're going you know, get the ball back, get some more positive field position for your offense.
00:43:01
Speaker
The Elks field goal unit struggled really heavily in this game. Two missed field goals that really hurt them. ah The returning game was solid. I thought Arkel Smith had a great game. Three kick returns for 124 yards.
00:43:13
Speaker
ah He was one of the standouts for me ah on this Edmonton team in this first game. He had two receptions for 55 yards. One of them was a long of 50 plus the big returns. I thought he really stood out in this game.
00:43:26
Speaker
um But it all comes down to try forward, Patrick. it It really does in this game. Yes, it does, Damian. And it was... Not his best performance. And you know we we didn't know. we like we're Where do I go with this? I think Trey Ford at his best is one of the better quarterbacks in this league. And I think Trey Ford, when he's not on, is a backup quarterback in this league.
00:43:52
Speaker
And the issue with Trey Ford is he doesn't have a middle ground. right it's And you know pretty much right away, If we're going to have a good Trey Ford game or a bad one. And he had the highlight reel play in this one scrambled. He must have ran for 50 yards in the backfield makes the throw down the field.
00:44:09
Speaker
And, you know, I think it led to points. I kind of forget it. The game kind of all jumbled together in the second half there, but I believe that led to points and it was like, yes, yes. That is it. I mean, we don't need you scrambling for your life like that, but his playmaking ability is second to none in this league.
00:44:24
Speaker
But I mean, when he's, he's only through, he only threw the ball 27 times. We don't need you throwing it 50 plus times, but we need you north of 30, somewhere in 35 to 40, uh, throwing attempts is a nice number for Trey Ford, especially if you're only going to run it six times.
00:44:41
Speaker
It just felt like he was indecisive. He didn't know what to do with the ball. ah It felt like, you know, yeah Like I said, in the first half, you look tentative to run. And then in the second half, it was no holds barred and it was kind of chaos. And got they got some positive plays out of it, but it just, BC can let you run for 10 yards and let the clock start ticking down, especially when they have a lead.
00:45:03
Speaker
So I think with Trey, you know, I'm sure there were some nerves. First start, you go, I'm at the helm this year. I am the quarterback. So I'm sure there were some nerves, but we need to see a better effort out of them in the second game, especially because,
00:45:18
Speaker
Over the past three years, they flashed the graphic. I know last year was owen seven and I believe the last two years it was o and five Those were the starts for the Elks. for the elks just go 500. Like this is clearly a second half of the season team.
00:45:34
Speaker
So if they can just find a way to start the year 500 through their first six, even two and four would feel like being undefeated for them based on those past starts. They need to find a way to get wins in the bank early and efforts like this from Trey Ford are not the way to do it.
00:45:50
Speaker
Yeah, it's just so yin and yang. Like like you said, like he has the highlight play of the night on a third and two to hit Justin Rankin for 37 yards. That is the example of how good Trey Ford can be at his best.
00:46:05
Speaker
It's so fun to watch. He's an elite playmaker when he's doing stuff like that. And then, you know, the other side of it is a near pick six with seven minutes left in the fourth that ices the game for BC because they score a touchdown directly after it is the perfect example of how things can go wrong, as well as a couple of hospital passes, like one to Zach Mathis, um who he has to go way up for the ball and he gets kind of chopped under him.
00:46:32
Speaker
And then a brutal one to Arkel Smith late in this game. That was one of the biggest hits that I've seen in the CFL in the past few years. And he absolutely got his doors blown off on a really dangerous pass. i'm He was lucky to not get injured on that play. That hit was insane.
00:46:53
Speaker
And it was on like a nothing play. ah you You did not need to throw him up a hospital pass. And what was at that point a lost game. And I don't even think it was for a first down. I think it was on like a first and 10 and it was a five yard pass.
00:47:06
Speaker
Very dangerous. ah You know, you can't be, you can't be turned into Derek Carr. You can't. Like, you're going to get your guys killed out there. We need you to be, we want Trey Ford in the league.
00:47:19
Speaker
I had a buddy who I thought had no interest in the CFL and he was talking to me in beer league last And he goes, do you watch the BC Edmonton game? I go, yeah. it goes, yeah. Two starting Canadian quarterbacks the first time since the sixties.
00:47:31
Speaker
This is good for the league. Guys like Trey Ford are good for the league to get casual fans involved. So we want Trey Ford to exceed. All right, succeed. Sorry. And I believe they're going to give them leash for the first half of the season.
00:47:43
Speaker
But if it's not going well, I got like I know they were saying all the right things to start the year. And, you know, this is Trey's team and we're going to give them a lot of leash. And I'm not going to overreact over one game, but it wasn't a good one.
00:47:56
Speaker
if If this continues, he will be on the bench for the second half of the year. But yeah let's not overreact. Let's not overreact. We can turn it around. But yes, Trey needs to be better going forward.
Week One Standout Players
00:48:07
Speaker
Yeah. Week one is a classic overreaction territory. ah And, you know, we got to give it some time to settle. But Cody Fuggiardo looked great as a short yardage quarterback, I thought. So he's always waiting in the weeds on that team.
00:48:22
Speaker
ah especially a guy like Fajardo, who's really still got it. um Moving at out of the games into a bit of a quick new segment here. Three stars of the week, the goalpost three stars of the week.
00:48:34
Speaker
um I had a couple here. ah You can let me know if you think any differently here. Mine ah coming in third was that Nathan Rourke performance. 27 for 36, 324 yards, three touchdowns through the air.
00:48:49
Speaker
five carries for 54 yards. I thought he was the lifeblood of that BC team in that game and really made a huge difference just on the outlook of that team.
00:48:59
Speaker
ah In second, I had Dedrick Mill, 17 carries for 94 yards and three touchdowns. three receptions for 30 yards. I think that Mills is really becoming one of the more underrated backs in the league.
00:49:13
Speaker
ah You get buried on a Calgary team that really didn't do well last year. That can really come back and and kind of, you know, have a rebound effect where all of a sudden the eyes are on Calgary and it's, man, this guy's good.
00:49:26
Speaker
ah But in first I had You know, eight either of these three guys could have been in first here, but I thought that to start out the season, Samuel Emelis having eight catches on eight targets for 133 yards and a touchdown really stood out to me. He was an absolute ball magnet in that game.
00:49:46
Speaker
Anytime that Trevor Harris looked downfield to him, he seemed to just go up and catch it. And this wasn't like he had, you know, one catch that was 100 yards or 60 yards that really boosted that.
00:49:56
Speaker
He was getting 20 yard connections, 33, 10, seven. Like he, he really built up this game from the ground and was perfect in catches to target. So that's what I had.
00:50:07
Speaker
ah Well said. I think those are the three stars of the week. I'll just do a pair of honorable mentions here. ah One, yeah may not stand out, but I just thought with, you know, Montreal's running back room being such, such a question mark going into the year.
00:50:24
Speaker
Sean Thomas Erlington, just 86 yards on 17 carries, eases Davis Alexander into the game. He gets skunked in the touchdown category, but I mean, just the performance there averaging over five yards a carry throughout the entire game, ah just amazing.
00:50:39
Speaker
was taking time off the clock, not letting the Argos get onto the field to kind of work their way back into this game. And like I said, just kind of letting Davis Alexander get comfortable and be himself. I thought that was a huge reason why Montreal won. And it's going to be a storyline that I'm going to be watching throughout the entire year because, know,
00:50:57
Speaker
We didn't know what this running back room was going to be. And if Thomas Arlington can continue that all year, Montreal is going to be a serious threat in the East. And as a great cup contender, my, ah my other honorable mention, uh, going back to the rough riders, we mentioned AJ Ouellette was injured, left the game in the second quarter.
00:51:15
Speaker
So I'm going to just give a quick shout out to Thomas Bertrand, who done, uh, 14 carries on 57 yards and a touchdown and two receptions for 17 yards and a touchdown in relief of A.J. Ouellette.
00:51:27
Speaker
ah just Just great to see the depth of ah the Rough Riders running back room coming through. So giving a little love to the boys on the ground over in the CFL. Absolutely. Yeah, a lot of great performances this week.
00:51:39
Speaker
ah Those were some of them that absolutely highlighted it.
CFL Power Rankings Update
00:51:43
Speaker
Onto the power rankings re-rack here, Patrick. ah We'll give a quick reminder to the audience. We did have Argos, Blue Bombers, Rough Riders, Alouettes in the top four.
00:51:54
Speaker
We had Ottawa as that measuring stick at five. And then we had Edmonton, BC, Hamilton, and Calgary. So I think to start out the easy one, I've done a little bit of mocking up on this just to kind of get ah you know, some thoughts on it.
00:52:08
Speaker
The easy re-rack is the switch at the bottom, right? Hamilton goes down to nine and Calgary goes up to eight at the very least. Yeah, so I think Hamilton is the easy nine.
00:52:19
Speaker
yeah Easy nine. ah My biggest question with this is how are we going to the Argos? Is it the nick buckle Nick Arbuckle Argos or is it the Chad Kelly Argos? Because if it's the Nick Arbuckle Argos, they're in a free fall situation.
00:52:35
Speaker
I agree. I think that you have to judge them on the team on the field right now. I think that that if we judge them like that, then we have the free reign to boost them way back up.
00:52:45
Speaker
when Chad Kelly comes back to this team, I think that's one thing. And the other thing is, I think, you know, just to get ahead of it, I think Winnipeg having not played stays at two. Yeah. they're They're a tough one to throw in, but you have to include all nine teams in the league.
00:53:01
Speaker
ah So yeah, we're still kind of going off of last year for the blue bombers. I think, what do you think about throwing? Who do you want to throw one? i think it's between two teams.
00:53:13
Speaker
The team that just made the Argos and the team in green. Yeah, I really struggle with this ah because I think that Saskatchewan beat a better Ottawa team. like i And I think that as good as Montreal looked, I think that Saskatchewan is likely the best team in the league right now.
00:53:33
Speaker
I don't disagree with that. So I think that if we start that out, we go Saskatchewan one, Winnipeg stays at two because they didn't play. I don't think it's too fair to really bump them having not played.
00:53:45
Speaker
And then Montreal goes to three. That's the one, two, three. Agreed. i think we can go back to the bottom. ah Based off that effort I saw in week one, I think you could go Edmonton at eight.
00:53:58
Speaker
I agree. And then based on on the Calgary effort, they get up to seven. Yep. And now that is Calgary, Edmonton, Hamilton for 7, 8, 9.
00:54:10
Speaker
Now the 4, 5, 6. I think I have the Argos at 6. Agreed. Agreed. we're We're in agreement here. and and And I'm leaving the benchmark team at 5, and I'm moving BC up to 4. What do you think about that? You like that? That's what I had.
00:54:25
Speaker
Beautiful. Yeah, that's we're we're seeing eye-to-eye early in the season, which is good. yeah ah The team that is probably... We don't know. It's just Winnipeg. We don't know what Winnipeg truly is yet. ah We're still giving them the benefit of the doubt from last season.
00:54:40
Speaker
The week one bye is always weird, especially when you see everyone else play. And it's like, we still don't know what you are over there ah in the blue and gold. So ah we're giving the respect to Winnipeg, but they are they could be moving the most go and going into week three.
00:54:55
Speaker
Well, that's a perfect... Jumping off point into our quick thoughts on a week to preview here. ah And that is that I almost forgot. Zach Claros isn't playing in week one because of a weird kind of controlled substance the story that is kind of still hazy.
00:55:15
Speaker
Something to do with he didn't submit a drug test on time. So it leads to a one game suspension. They said that they weren't given adequate awareness of it or there was some miscommunication on that front. Very weird story.
00:55:29
Speaker
um But he's not playing in week one. And that, to me, when I initially looked at the lines going into week two, I thought, that's really weird that BC is favored on the road by a point and a half against Winnipeg. And then I remembered this is a Zach Caleros-less Winnipeg. So I think that the line makes sense.
00:55:51
Speaker
Agreed with that. Yeah. And, and it's moving. ah BC is currently two and a half point favorites on FanDuel. I think it opened at one and a half, if I'm not mistaken. So it's moving in BC's direction.
00:56:03
Speaker
ah The point total is at 49 and a half. And I think that's a pretty good number. I think you could see some fireworks in here. especially if a Strebler kind of
Week Two Preview and Predictions
00:56:11
Speaker
finds his groove. It's been a while since we've seen this Strebler just starting as a CFL quarterback. So that's going to be kind of a fun wrinkle in this one.
00:56:19
Speaker
ah Thursday night at eight 30 in Winnipeg, their season opener, If BC picks up where they left off in week one, I think winnipe and just because it's Winnipeg's first game could start slow.
00:56:33
Speaker
They could just get hit by a wrecking ball in the first quarter and just be chasing the game the whole way. i think they're a veteran enough team where the defense is going to you know do what they have to do to hold them to field goals and just keep their offense in this game until they do find their rhythm.
00:56:50
Speaker
But I think Winnipeg could be overwhelmed early and just kind of have to do everything in their arsenal to survive the first half. I agree. And I think that considering the fact that you lost Tyrell Ford on the secondary, getting hit by a BC offense that has a ton of weapons at receiver, you're missing your best DB now.
00:57:11
Speaker
ah that could be a bit of ah a recipe for disaster. You do have the home field effect. Like BC had the benefit of playing in front of a huge home crowd, which you know it's going to be bumping in Winnipeg.
00:57:25
Speaker
It always is. ah That's worth at least, you know, a point or two ah being on home field. But yeah, this could be a really hot start for the Lions if they go out and and really blow the doors off the Blue Bombers. Really excited for that game. And I love that it's first on the schedule to just get right into it in this week.
00:57:44
Speaker
um Friday night, Friday night football, back to back Friday night football is for the Alouettes. The Alouettes are going to Ottawa um for the Red Blacks home opener. But the Red Blacks are favored by a point and a half. I'm not sure what it's at now. That's what it was yesterday. But another opening line where there aren't any quarterbacks that are out of this game. That one caught my eye a bit.
00:58:06
Speaker
Yeah, I don't disagree. i think they must have loved what I've seen, and it still is at one and a half. I think if anything, it'll move in the Owls direction. ah it's almost plus The Red Blacks are almost plus money on the point spread.
00:58:19
Speaker
So I think if anything, it moves Montreal's way. But yeah, I guess they're... I guess the books are big Drew Brown fans. And I mean, Ottawa is at home, but I wouldn't say that. No disrespect to the Ottawa crowd. I wouldn't say that's one of the bigger home field advantages in the league. It's a fun crowd.
00:58:35
Speaker
And it's, it'll be, you know, there'll be people there. I'm not saying that it's going to be like what we saw out of Calgary's fans. ah in week one. That was a tough scene. yeah So I think they're going off of momentum.
00:58:47
Speaker
I think, you know, it's tough to gauge what the Argos are right now. And I think the Owls, you know, handled their business, but I think it just, you know, was that a, I think the Redblocks had the tougher test in week one and they showed well, they showed very well on a loss and Drew Brown, you know, is just throwing the lights out And I think this is this is a game where we're going to really see Davis Alexander. He's going to have to play. He's going to have to kind of get into a bit of a shootout based on what we saw from Ottawa's ah offense.
00:59:19
Speaker
You know, you're going to have to probably score more than 28 points to win this game, I think. So I got my eyes on the total on this one. It's at 49 and a half. um But I think this will be a nice, fun battle.
00:59:30
Speaker
And just to see where teams sit in the East, like ah is Ottawa going to just catch the the pack of Ottawa-Montreal finally and make this East just as competitive as we've seen in the West in past years.
00:59:42
Speaker
Yeah, I'm really interested to see, you know, a couple performances in this game. I'm interested to see how the Alouettes defense, who looked great in that first game, responds to a bit more of a potent ah offense.
00:59:54
Speaker
I'm interested to see, like you said, the Red Blacks had a much tougher test in week one. Did that tune them up like in a really good way? to be able to take on an Alouette's team. You're at home. You want to start the season ah at home with a win.
01:00:08
Speaker
Really interested to see how that game goes. um On to the Argos home opener on Saturday. Stamps coming to town. The Argos are three and a half point favorites at home.
01:00:21
Speaker
There was some questions about whether the Argos would be a home dog in this game. But, you know, to a bit of my surprise, they come out as three and a half point favorites. I think that will move back towards the stamps a little bit here.
01:00:35
Speaker
um Going back to the best giveaway in sports, the Argos are giving away replicas of their gray cup rings, which they gave out to the team ah yesterday night.
01:00:46
Speaker
And gorgeous rings, gorgeous rings. And they're going to raise a banner. you know that is a You want to start the season with a win here. I actually think they got a bit lucky getting a Calgary team here ah in the second week for a home opener. bit of A bit of a wink by the CFL, I think, after starting them on the road in Montreal.
01:01:04
Speaker
ah No idea what to expect from this game, though. like If Calgary's offense looks like that, agree. I think that they beat the Argos by at least a touchdown. ah Agreed. Because based on what I saw in week one, Calgary has a more potent offense than Montreal.
01:01:20
Speaker
Montreal's probably a better team overall with the defense and everything included. But the offense in itself is more potent for the Stamps. And yell the the Argos are three and a half point favorites. I think they're getting a little too much respect at home in this one. I think they'd be happy to just win this game by any number.
01:01:38
Speaker
So I think if they're three and a half point favorites, I think that's kind of a bit of a stretch here. The total is 50 and a half. So I think they are expecting points. Can Nick Arbuckle get in a shootout?
01:01:49
Speaker
You know, we've seen it. He did it last year for a bit. I know it's a very different team. We just need, we just need a bit of last year's Nick Arbuckle. The Argos can... improve on that. The defense, I think, will hold the stamps to less points than what the Tiger Cats allowed in that week one matchup.
01:02:06
Speaker
So I think if they can just find a way to keep Calgary under, say, 24 points, 25, which is going to be a tough task, they can win this game. Yeah, I agree. You got to keep Vernon Adams in front of you. I think that that started to kill the the cats late in that game was Vernon Adams was running for like huge gains on, you know, a second and long or a second and 10.
01:02:29
Speaker
And I think that the Argos defense is going to really have to come to play here and the Argos offense. You just need to get a bit of rhythm back, get on the board early in this game. I think that, you know, going into half, having three points for the Argos ah really killed them last night. So, You need to have a good start to this game and a productive first half on offense.
01:02:50
Speaker
if If Calgary's scoring points in the first half, it's fine as long as you can keep up with it. And I think that's going to be a very similar case for this last game where the Rough Riders are going to Hamilton.
01:03:04
Speaker
They opened as four and a half point favorites. It's come down now to three and a half points. ah And this is going to be another big test for the Ticats. Yeah, I mean, what a start to the year for for the Ticats. I mean, you had the basement dweller matchup, and you kind of got your doors blown off a bit, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
01:03:26
Speaker
And now you're going against the number one goalpost power rankings in the Saskatchewan Roughriders. So yeah I know the Ticats are at home. Riders are going across a time zone or two.
01:03:37
Speaker
So, you know, you kind of have that on your side. This line is a little surprising to me. I think four and a half was the better number than three and a half. And I don't know what to expect, but if Trevor Harris and, you know, Corey Mesa is that defense in order to start the game and they don't have to adjust, uh, after the first quarter, I think Saskatchewan can win this game running away, ah running away. I think this is, uh, two teams,
01:04:02
Speaker
in two different spots in the CFL. Let's just put it that way. Yeah. And like we said, like there's that, that nagging feeling with this Hamilton team that if they get down in this game,
01:04:14
Speaker
that the second half is just going to turn into an absolute circus of trying to pass on a defense that is notably better than this, that Calgary defense. Like it is, this is a huge, huge mountain to climb ah going against a defense like the Rough Riders, really the strength of this team.
01:04:32
Speaker
ah Yeah. Hamilton has their work absolutely cut out to the, for them. um But we'll move finally here into week two picks. We went two and two as a podcast. ah Rough Riders minus three and a half hit for Patrick.
01:04:46
Speaker
ah yeah It was a great pick. We were both kind of in on that Calgary Hamilton over 52 and a half hit easily, easily in that game. ah The losers, bad, bad pick by myself. Argos plus four and a half.
01:04:59
Speaker
And then that Ottawa Saskatchewan under 49 and a half i was no better than, than your Argos pack. All right. So it's, we're both in the same boat, but I mean, Hey, two and two is, is doable and should be like two and a half and two because of just how right we were on that Hamilton's Calgary over.
01:05:16
Speaker
I agree. um I'll start off here ah with a week to pick. I really, really think that Calgary plus three and a half, you're getting a lot of value there. I hate to pick against the Argos, ah but,
01:05:29
Speaker
Calgary plus three and a half. I think even getting that hook like is is a perfect, perfect spot to be in in this game. Yeah, our Argos will be happy to get out of there with a win by any point margin. So if you're getting three and a half points with the stamps, I like that a lot.
01:05:45
Speaker
um This is going interesting one. i i just i kind of like it. ah The line shifted that way. I'm going to go with the Lions minus two and a half. ah We're going lock that in now. So if it and keeps moving to three or three and a half, it don't matter. We're getting it at two and a half right now on Tuesday.
01:06:01
Speaker
I just think they're better team right now with a Stravall at quarterback. They've had a game. I think Winnipeg might start a little slow and I just think BC might be too much too early for Winnipeg and the lead could be insurmountable.
01:06:16
Speaker
I agree. I agree. um I'm going to go to that last game of the week, over 50 and a half in Saskatchewan Hamilton. I think that this could You know, depending on how this game goes, this could be a bit of a system play with the over in whoever Hamilton's playing.
01:06:34
Speaker
ah Yeah, I agree. And maybe Calgary too. I'm not going to touch it just because we don't know what the Argos offense is yet, ah but I like that. And I'm going stick with that game. Chalk eating weasel here. at The Rough Riders minus three and a half.
01:06:47
Speaker
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. it I think they cover three and a half against a better Red Blacks team last week. And, you know, it would The Red Blacks took everything to make that game look close on the scoreboard.
01:07:00
Speaker
So I think if the Rough Riders go like stay where they left off, I think they'll cover that number pretty easily. Hopefully they don't get too screwed up on the road here with the time zone change, but I think they'll be all right.
01:07:11
Speaker
Yeah, I love those picks. Like I i buy might parlay all four of those together. I probably will too. ah Did you think about touching that Al's Red Blocks game? ah You know, I had Montreal plus one and a half ah written down.
01:07:24
Speaker
And for some reason, I got cold feet right at the end there when I started looking at it again. That's one of those games where I'm probably just going to take the over and it's going to be an eyeball test. I'm just going to be watching these two teams, see how they stack up against each other. But if I guess if I had to pick a side,
01:07:42
Speaker
I don't agree with it, but just based on the line, I think they they want you to take Montreal, so I would have to take Ottawa, but I will not be touching the sides in this game. I agree. i Ratline jumped out to me on that game, and they I think they do really want you to take Montreal, which leads me to believe that, yeah, much better to stay away.
Episode Wrap-up and Season Outlook
01:08:00
Speaker
um But that does it for our week one preview or week one recap and our week two preview in the CFL. We have gotten off to a great start here, feeling real positive about this season. And I'm already excited just to watch these four games.
01:08:14
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, we got four games with the biggest spread being three and a half. So I think we're going to be in for a great week of close games. ah Based on what we saw in week one, we're going to have a lot of points. The offenses are not skipping a beat to start the year.
01:08:29
Speaker
ah It's been very fun to watch. And I think we're going to, I'm going to see more of the same just throughout the season goes on. And I'm i'm looking forward to week two. Sounds good, Patrick. We will meet you guys in the same time and place next week to go over it all again. Until next week, Patrick, I'll see you.
01:08:48
Speaker
See you, Damien.